The UW cherry blossoms are peaking soon & here’s the best time to visit them

As you’ve probably noticed, the cherry blossoms are starting to bloom around the city. Luckily for Seattleites, there are a lot of places you can see them around the city. However, there are few blooms as iconic as the UW cherry blossoms at the quad. Here’s when they’ll peak this year.

As of March 15, the cherry trees in the UW Quad are mostly green buds with a few florets. UW campus arborist Sara Shores shared that while the cold snap has delayed the blooms slightly, there is no anticipated damage to the blossoms due to the cold weather.

With the delay in mind, the trees will likely hit 10% bloom, “meaning one in every 10 buds has erupted in pink or white blossoms” the week of March 20. Shores estimates that the trees will reach their peak bloom which is when 70% of the buds have emerged — in early April.

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The main species of cherry tree on the UW campus is Yoshino, this includes the 29 trees in the Quad. Other varieties that can be found across campus include the Higan, Hisakura, Kwanzan, Mt. Fuji and Shirofugen tree.

If you’re feeling really antsy, you can of course head over and see the start of the blooms and also check out the two plum trees, which flower a bit earlier and have already begun to bloom.

UW also points out that the best times to visit the Quad on for quiet viewings and less people are on weekdays and in the early mornings. And to make your life even easier, the university now has a website dedicated to the blooms and updates.

Happy spring!